Council of Europe human rights chief urges full probe of CIA renditions

The control tower of the airport in Szymany, northeastern Poland, is pictured in this archive picture from 2005. Polish media said November 5, 2005 the airport was identified by Human Rights Watch as a potential site of alleged CIA prisons used to interrogate al Qaeda captives (Reuters/Tomasz Marek) / Reuters

The EU and the US should fully investigate the CIA’s “extraordinary” and “lawless” rendition program, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner said in a statement marking the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“Twelve years ago, almost 3,000 people were killed by the
terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Commemorative
events provide an occasion to pay respects to the innocent
victims, but also to reflect on the anti-terrorist response
adopted by the USA and Europe,” Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks said in a forthright
statement Wednesday.

He added that governments had thus far been unable to establish
the truth or “ensure accountability for their complicity in
the unlawful program of ‘extraordinary renditions’ – involving
abduction, detention and ill-treatment of suspected terrorists –
carried out by the CIA in Europe between 2002 and 2006.”

Although the human rights commissioner accepted the necessity of
secrecy to protest state interests, he said it should never be
used as an excuse to cover up human rights abuses.

He urged the court to further expose “the lawlessness that has
characterized the CIA program” by examining complaints lodged
by Guantanamo Bay detainees Abu Zubaydah and Al Nashiri against
Poland and Lithuania, and Poland and Romania, respectively.

The suspected terrorists, both of whom are being held in the
Guantanamo prison camp, claim that the aforementioned states had
failed to properly conduct investigations “into the circumstances
surrounding their ill-treatment, detention and transfer to the
USA.”

Citing a report published by Open Society Justice Initiative,
Muižnieks added that 25 European countries have collaborated with
the CIA, but Italy was the only state thus far to hand down a
conviction for the kidnapping and rendition of a Muslim
cleric.

“It is imperative to take urgent political and judicial
initiatives in member States to lift the veil of secrecy
Governments have drawn over their responsibilities,“
Muižnieks said in a call to action.

“The CIA program of rendition and secret detention is not
simply a grave political mistake: it is above all a serious
violation of fundamental human rights. The continued impunity
breeds contempt for democracy and the rule of law, as well as
disrespect for the victims and values in whose name the fight
against terrorism was carried out. It is high time to set the
record straight.”

The efficacy of Muižnieks’ call remains to be seen, as the
Council of Europe is a separate body from the European Union and
its 47 members include Russia and other non-EU members.

All Council of Europe members subscribe to the jurisdiction of
the European Court of Human Rights, which in its landmark
judgment “El-Masri v. the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia,” held Macedonia responsible for the abduction and
torture of German car salesman Khaled El-Masri. Masri was
forcibly taken to Afghanistan and set free only after the CIA
admitted he had been taken by mistake, Gabriele Steinhauser wrote
for the Wall Street Journal.

In interview with The Voice of Russia, Muižnieks said the West
cannot sacrifice its “own values and human rights on the altar
of national security.”

“We saw this from 2001-02 to 2006 but I think that now with
new revelations about surveillance in the context of
counterterrorism we have to keep reminding ourselves and
everybody in Europe that human rights come first,” he said.

“If we compromise human rights, we will be doing a disservice
not only to the struggle against terrorism but to the victims of
terrorism as well.”

The CIA’s post 9/11 extraordinary rendition and secret detention
programs are believed to have involved upwards of 136 people. The
US government has identified 16 “high value detainees” who were
secretly held in CIA detention prior to being transferred to U.S.
Defense Department custody in Guantanamo Bay.

Up to 54 foreign governments aided the CIA in its operations in a
variety of ways, including hosting CIA black sites on their
territories, detaining, interrogating and torturing suspects,
allowing the use of domestic airspace and airports for secret
flights transporting detainees, and providing intelligence which
aided efforts to the detain and rendition individuals.